Advanced AI

Heuristics in AI

Tushar B. Kute,
http://tusharkute.com
What is Heuristic?

• A heuristic is a technique that is used to solve a

problem faster than the classic methods.
• These techniques are used to find the
approximate solution of a problem when
classical methods do not.
• Heuristics are said to be the problem-solving
techniques that result in practical and quick
solutions.
What is Heuristic?

• Heuristics are strategies that are derived from

past experience with similar problems.
• Heuristics use practical methods and shortcuts
used to produce the solutions that may or may
not be optimal, but those solutions are
sufficient in a given limited timeframe.
History

• Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky

have developed the study of Heuristics in human
decision-making in the 1970s and 1980s.
• However, this concept was first introduced by the
Nobel Laureate Herbert A. Simon, whose primary
object of research was problem-solving.
Why do we need heuristics?

• Heuristics are used in situations in which there

is the requirement of a short-term solution.
• On facing complex situations with limited
resources and time, Heuristics can help the
companies to make quick decisions by shortcuts
and approximated calculations.
• Most of the heuristic methods involve mental
shortcuts to make decisions on past
experiences.
Why do we need heuristics?
Why do we need heuristics?

• The heuristic method might not always provide us the

finest solution, but it is assured that it helps us find a
good solution in a reasonable time.
• Based on context, there can be different heuristic
methods that correlate with the problem's scope. The
most common heuristic methods are - trial and error,
guesswork, the process of elimination, historical data
analysis.
• These methods involve simply available information that
is not particular to the problem but is most appropriate.
They can include representative, affect, and availability
heuristics.
Heuristic Search Methods
Categories

• We can perform the Heuristic techniques into

two categories:
– Direct Heuristic Search techniques in AI
– Weak Heuristic Search techniques in AI
Direct Heuristic Search techniques in AI

• It includes Blind Search, Uninformed Search, and

Blind control strategy.
• These search techniques are not always possible as
they require much memory and time.
• These techniques search the complete space for a
solution and use the arbitrary ordering of
operations.
• The examples of Direct Heuristic search techniques
include Breadth-First Search (BFS) and Depth First
Search (DFS).
Weak Heuristic Search techniques in AI

• It includes Informed Search, Heuristic Search,

and Heuristic control strategy.
• These techniques are helpful when they are
applied properly to the right types of tasks.
• They usually require domain-specific
information.
• The examples of Weak Heuristic search
techniques include Best First Search (BFS) and
A*.
Examples of heuristics in everyday life
Examples of heuristics in everyday life

• Some of the real-life examples of heuristics that

people use as a way to solve a problem:
• Common sense: It is a heuristic that is used to solve a
problem based on the observation of an individual.
• Rule of thumb: In heuristics, we also use a term rule of
thumb. This heuristic allows an individual to make an
approximation without doing an exhaustive search.
• Working backward: It lets an individual solve a
problem by assuming that the problem is already
being solved by them and working backward in their
minds to see how much a solution has been reached.
Examples of heuristics in everyday life

• Availability heuristic: It allows a person to judge a

situation based on the examples of similar situations
that come to mind.
• Familiarity heuristic: It allows a person to approach a
problem on the fact that an individual is familiar with the
same situation, so one should act similarly as he/she
acted in the same situation before.
• Educated guess: It allows a person to reach a conclusion
without doing an exhaustive search. Using it, a person
considers what they have observed in the past and
applies that history to the situation where there is not
any definite answer has decided yet.
Types of Heuristics

• There are various types of heuristics, including

the availability heuristic, affect heuristic and
representative heuristic.
• Each heuristic type plays a role in decision-
making.
• Let's discuss about the Availability heuristic,
affect heuristic, and Representative heuristic.
Availability heuristic

• Availability heuristic is said to be the judgment that

people make regarding the likelihood of an event
based on information that quickly comes into mind.
• On making decisions, people typically rely on the
past knowledge or experience of an event.
• It allows a person to judge a situation based on the
examples of similar situations that come to mind.
Representative heuristic

• It occurs when we evaluate an event's probability on the

basis of its similarity with another event.
• Example: We can understand the representative heuristic
by the example of product packaging, as consumers tend
to associate the products quality with the external
packaging of a product. If a company packages its
products that remind you of a high quality and well-
known product, then consumers will relate that product
as having the same quality as the branded product.
• So, instead of evaluating the product based on its quality,
customers correlate the products quality based on the
similarity in packaging.
Affect heuristic

• It is based on the negative and positive feelings

that are linked with a certain stimulus.
• It includes quick feelings that are based on past
beliefs.
• Its theory is one's emotional response to a stimulus
that can affect the decisions taken by an individual.
• When people take a little time to evaluate a
situation carefully, they might base their decisions
based on their emotional response.
Limitations of heuristics

• Along with the benefits, heuristic also has some

limitations.
– Although heuristics speed up our decision-
making process and also help us to solve
problems, they can also introduce errors just
because something has worked accurately in the
past, so it does not mean that it will work again.
– It will hard to find alternative solutions or ideas
if we always rely on the existing solutions or
heuristics.